Friday, April 10, 2009

HSUS Bust Dog Meeting: Don't Ask, Don't Tell?

So the invited "major stakeholders" in the Pitbull world met with HSUS in Las Vegas this week regarding their policy on dogs seized in fight cases. (Previous HSUS policy=death, new policy=???) Now I'm not a supa-important, rilly offishal "stakeholder" mind you (more of a thorn-in-side-r perhaps), but since I am a dog owner and someone who feels passionately about getting bust dogs individual evaluations, I would like to know what the beautiful people discussed behind closed doors. Is that unreasonable or somehow too much to ask? Well, I'm asking.

And in that pesky, bothersome way of mine, I'm going to keep asking. Because there is a pile of bones in my mind - dead Pitbulls. Waggy adults, bouncing adolescents, and suckling pups - killed by the efforts of an unjust HSUS and their policy on bust dog extermination. That pile of skeletons represents life wasted, thrown away like trash, left to rot in some dark cellar. But that cellar door is open now and although those once vibrant dogs no longer have a voice of their own, we can speak for them. And we must.

We must not allow the HSUS to continue the killing of unevaluated dogs no matter what the excuse or supposed justification. There can be no justification for removing a nursing puppy from his dam and killing him. There is no right reason for taking a floppy-eared adolescent or a licky-faced adult who has never been fairly evaluated by a qualified individual and killing him. The end does not justify the means if killing puppies and unevaluated dogs is part of the equation. Bust dogs, like those seized from Michael Vick, have been successfully rehomed, despite what the HSUS says. And rescue groups are willing to step up and assist, despite what the HSUS says. Enough with the lies and the killing. No more dead dogs on the pile of shame.

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Kibbles 'n Tidbits

South Carolina Code of Laws - Title 47, Chapter 3, Article 13, Section 47-3-710: (C) An animal is not a "dangerous animal" solely by virtue of its breed or species.

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MYTH: American Pit Bull Terriers lock their jaws.

Dr. Brisbin: "The few studies which have been conducted of the structure of the skulls, mandibles and teeth of pit bulls show that, in proportion to their size, their jaw structure and thus its inferred functional morphology, is no different than that of any breed of dog.

There is absolutely no evidence for the existence of any kind of "locking mechanism" unique to the structure of the jaw and/or teeth of the American Pit Bull Terrier.

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National Research Council has a pdf pamphlet available called "Your Dog's Nutritional Needs - A Science-Based Guide for Pet Owners"

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A little book to bring comfort: The Last Will and Testament of an Extremely Distinguished Dog by Eugene O'Neill

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